Bottom receiver unit for a water flowing product

ABSTRACT

The present invention describes a bottom receiver unit  1  for a water flowing product, said bottom unit  1  comprising an upper plate  2,  a slit  3  positioned beneath the upper plate  2  and a rough filter unit  4  positioned over the slit  3,  said rough filter unit  4  intended to prevent items from reaching a drain  5  but where water passes through the rough filter unit  4  easily.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bottom receiver for a water flowing product, such as for a shower, sink or the like.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

There are many existing drain products for water flowing products, such as for bathroom products like showers or sinks or e.g. sinks used in a kitchen.

One aim of the present invention is to provide a bottom receiver unit for a water flowing product like the ones disclosed above, which bottom receiver unit exhibits several advantages, such as being easy to clean and providing a suitable complement for other separation units, e.g. filters and drains, for instance a floor drain in a shower, in this type of products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The latter stated purpose above is achieved by a bottom receiver unit for a water flowing product, said bottom unit comprising an upper plate, a slit positioned beneath the upper plate and a rough filter unit positioned over the slit, said rough filter unit intended to prevent items from reaching a drain but where water passes through the rough filter unit easily.

In relation to the present invention the expression “rough filter” refers to the ability of preventing larger items, such as hair or other items easily visible for a human, from passing, while water easily is passed through the rough filter.

Moreover and as mentioned above, a “water flowing product” may be a bathroom product like a shower or sink or e.g. a sink used in a kitchen. Furthermore, hybrid devices allowing purification and either recycling of water or discarding of water depending on the quality of water in the form of showers or sinks are also intended for a bottom receiver unit according to the present invention. Fact is that the bottom receiver unit according to the present invention is a suitable unit in such hybrid devices. Hybrid devices as disclosed above comprise separation units, e.g. filters, and the rough filter unit comprised in the bottom receiver unit according to the present invention is suitable to combine which such separation units. When a rough filter unit comprised in a bottom receiver unit according to the present invention is implemented in a hybrid device, then the filter or filters of the hybrid device may be optimised to separate on e.g. a smaller and tighter range of particle size. This is possible as the filtration of the hybrid device in such a case is divided into different steps where the bottom receiver unit according to the present invention provides for one part of this filtration. Some other advantages of the present invention are discussed below.

There are of course existing bottom receiver units for showers that are known today. One such is disclosed in US2006/0236452 in which there is shown what is called an infinity shower pan. The arrangement may include a screen or a grill which sits in a retaining indent across an opening to the drain channel. As notable from above, the screen or grill is not at all arranged such as according to the present invention, i.e. positioned over a slit such as according to the present invention. This is very clear when comparing e.g. FIGS. 11 and 12 of US2006/0236452 and FIGS. 1-4 of the present invention, where it is notable that across the opening to the drain channel according to US2006/0236452 cannot be seen as positioned over a slit according to the present invention. A slit according to the present invention is provided beneath the upper plate and is a slit with a vertical geometrical cross section. The upper plate on the other hand has of course a horizontal extension. The slit according to the present invention extends along one or more edges of the upper plate, such as provided at multiple edges of the upper plate, e.g. extending around the upper plate, possible as one whole slit or several slit portions. When viewing the possible arrangement of a screen or grill in US2006/0236452 it is very clear that this is totally different when comparing with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show cross sectional views of a bottom receiver unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another possible embodiment according to the present invention.

SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Below, there are disclosed different embodiments of the present invention.

According to one specific embodiment of the present invention, the slit is provided at multiple edges of the upper plate. From inter alia the figures such a design is shown. In this case the upper plate is four-sided and the slit is provided on all of the sides. One advantage with such a design according to the present invention is the provision of a comparatively large slit area and hence filtration area of the rough filter unit. A large filtration area is also possible to obtain if e.g. the upper plate is circular and the slit still is provided around the entire upper plate. Such a design is of course also totally possible according to the present invention.

According to the present invention, it may be of interest to arrange the slit with a continuous geometry. This may provide for increased simplification with respect to cleaning the slit with a brush or another type of instrument. It should be mentioned that slit may be provided as multiple slit portions. This could imply that e.g. support portions may be arranged between these slit portions. This may inter alia be of interest to uphold the upper plate in a secure way on the support portions and over the slit portions. This design may both have a continuous geometry and not. Moreover, the design with multiple slit portions may also be provided when these multiple slit portions are arranged on one side or several sides of the upper plate, or in the case of a circular upper plate, one only a larger side part of the upper plate or around the entire upper plate.

In relation to the upper plate according to the present invention, other advantages of the present invention may also be mentioned. First of all, and as said, the arranged rough filter unit is easy to clean. This may also be increased by providing a continuous geometry for the slit as mentioned above. The present invention provides a faster and easier way to clean when being compared to a regular method in which a floor drain sieve has to be removed, gloves have to be used and hair etc. has to be removed from the drain. In this context it should be mentioned that cleaning a floor drain of a shower or a sink is normally made when the flow through the floor drain is decreased, e.g. when there is a risk of an overflow. As such, the actual cleaning is not performed for having a clean floor drain, but for maintaining a enough water flow through the floor drain. It is inter alia in this context, the present invention provides an advantage over solutions existing today. As hair and items easily may be removed before reaching the floor drain, then the risk of a stop or a plug in the floor drain is decreased and hence the need of cleaning the floor drain is minimized according to the present invention.

Secondly, the floor drain is possible to hide beneath the upper plate, as may be understood from FIG. 2. This is of interest in terms of aesthetic reasons but also for providing advantages for people with special needs. One example is wheel chaired or bedridden people taking a shower. As the present invention may provide for an almost flat surface without a floor drain, it is easier for such a person to get into and out from the shower.

Thirdly, the floor drain does not have to be cleaned as often in comparison to regular showers and sinks. As the present invention provides for a much easier way to clean and remove hair and other items, etc., there will not be the same need for cleaning the actual floor drain as often as when compared with a regular showers or sink. The rough filter unit according to the present invention provides for a first filtration of hair etc. which does not reach the floor drain.

According to yet another specific embodiment of the present invention, the rough filter unit comprises a wide-meshed net or expanded metal. This may inter alia be seen in the drawings. In this context it may be mentioned that a brush or the like may be used to clean the wide-meshed net or expanded metal to remove hair and dirt from the same.

As hinted above, according to one embodiment, the rough filter unit is a net, such as a wide-meshed net or expanded metal, surrounding all of the slit around the entire upper plate.

According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, the rough filter unit is one or more perforated panels. These perforated panels have holes that go through the entire panel, and hence water will flow through this constructions. According to the present invention there may be provided one panel each on each side of the upper plate. In virtue thereof, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the rough filter unit is provided around the entire upper plate.

Furthermore, according to one specific embodiment of the present invention, the bottom receiver unit comprises a sand trap. A sand trap is totally optional according to the present invention but may be provided to ensure particular material in the water flow to settle instead of having the risk that it follows the water flow through the rough filter unit and into the drain. Moreover, the sand trap is part of the slot in which the slit is arranged. As such, and as understood from the drawings, also the sand trap preferably surrounds the entire upper plate. According to one specific embodiment, when a sand trap is arranged, the sand trap is a groove. According to one specific embodiment, the sand trap is a groove having a continuous geometry. Also in this case, this may be of interest for simplifying the cleaning procedure of the groove and slit. According to yet another specific embodiment, the sand trap is a groove having a cross section of the bottom of the groove which is free from edges. Some examples of possible shapes are semicircular cross sections and other such having bent ends without any corners. The idea of this feature is to prevent sand or other particular material from getting stuck in corners and as such being difficult to remove when cleaning the sand trap. With a semi-circular shape or the like, then the sand trap is very easy to clean. It may, however, be mentioned that it can also be of interest to provide an edge or the like as a collector of particles, sand etc. so that this portion is the only portion which has to be cleaned on a more or less regular basis. Furthermore, it should clearly be stated that the sand trap is only an optional add-on according to the present invention.

According to another specific embodiment of the present invention, the bottom receiver unit also comprises a sieve situated between the rough filter unit and the drain in flow terms. The sieve may be arranged directly after a funnel being the top of drain unit, as seen in FIG. 2. This sieve is a filter directed to filter off other material than the rough filter unit. Normally, the sieve is finer than the rough filter.

As shortly mentioned above, the bottom receiver unit according to the present invention may be used in many different devices. According to one embodiment, the water flowing product is a shower, sink or a hybrid device, a said water flowing product comprises a bottom receiver unit according to the present invention. According to yet another embodiment, there is disclosed a water flowing product in the form of a hybrid device comprising a bottom receiver unit according to the present invention, a recirculation loop and a filter system. As mentioned above, a hybrid device as intended according to the present invention allows purification and either recycling of water or discarding of water depending on the quality of water.

According to one specific embodiment, the filter system comprises at least two different filters. This mentioned filter system is in addition to the rough filter unit and possible sieve of the bottom receiver unit according to the present invention. In other words, the filters of the bottom receiver unit may take part in a filter system of a hybrid device which also comprises other filters. Filters of the filter system may be of any type, but specific possible ones are nano-filters which are even finer filters than micro- or ultra-filters, which of course also are possible ones. Other more rough filters may also be incorporated, e.g. in combination with finer filters. One possible example is a loop comprising both a rough filter and a finer filter, such as a nano-filter, in addition to the rough filter unit of the bottom receiver according to the present invention.

Furthermore, the hybrid device may also comprise other specific components which may be mentioned in particular. One such group are sensors. According to one specific embodiment, the hybrid device comprises multiple sensors. As an example, the hybrid device may comprise one or more sensors relating to water quality, filter quality, level in one or more tanks of the system and/or leakage. The sensors may be of different type. One example is conductivity sensors, such as e.g. electrical conductivity (EC) sensors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown cross sectional views of a bottom receiver unit 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The bottom receiver unit 1 comprises an upper plate 2, in this case being four-cornered and a slit 3 positioned beneath the upper plate 2. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slit 3 is part of a slot 8 being the water colleting unit when water flows over the upper plate 2. When the water flows into the slot 8, possible contained particles in the water flow, e.g. sand particles, sediment and are collected in a sand trap 6, which is totally optional according to the present invention, in this case being a groove free from edges and as such being easy to clean. The water flows into the slit 3 and then further to the drain. In FIG. 2 there is shown a part 5 of a drain, such as a part 5 of a floor drain for a shower. Over the slit 3 there is arranged a rough filter unit 4, in this case a wide-meshed net or expanded metal, which prevent items, e.g. hair, from reaching the drain. A brush or the like may be used to clean the wide-meshed net or expanded metal to remove hair and dirt from the same.

In FIG. 2, the sieve 7 arranged between the rough filter unit 4 and the drain in flow terms is also shown in cross section as a line. A funnel may be the top of the drain placed in the centre beneath the upper plate 2. The sieve 7 may be arranged directly after this funnel, i.e. as a filter before the actual drain.

In FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of the present invention. In this case the bottom receiver unit 1 comprises a rough filter unit 4 which comprises several individual detachable parts 10 in the form of perforated panels 9 in this case. Suitably one such for each side of the upper plate 2. Furthermore, one such individual detachable part 10 comprises fastening means 11, in this case three such fastening means 11. As notable from FIG. 4, the bottom receiver unit 1 is provided with in-locking means 12 in which the fastening means 11 may be fixated into as well as detached from. Moreover, as notable, in this case there is no sand trap provided. Furthermore, it should also be noted that in this case there is of course a slit 3 provided, however in this case there is no slot 8, when comparing to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Based on what has been disclosed above, according to one specific embodiment of the present invention, the bottom receiver unit 1 comprises a rough filter unit 4 which comprises individual detachable parts 10 arranged on each side of the upper plate 2, implying that for a standard quadratic upper plate 2 there is provided four such individual detachable parts 10. This also implies that the rough filter unit 4 is arranged or provided around the entire upper plate, even if there may be parts of one such individual detachable part 10 that does not comprise the rough filter unit 4. This is notable from FIG. 3 where one panel 9 has a middle part which is also provided with one fastening means 11 and where the filter portions or in this case perforated portions are provided on each section side of this middle of the panel 9. 

1. Bottom receiver unit for a water flowing product, said bottom unit comprising an upper plate, a slit positioned beneath the upper plate and a rough filter unit positioned over the slit, said rough filter unit intended to prevent items from reaching a drain but where water passes through the rough filter unit easily.
 2. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the slit is provided at multiple edges of the upper plate.
 3. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the slit has a continuous geometry.
 4. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit comprises a wide-meshed net or expanded metal.
 5. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit is one or more perforated panels.
 6. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit is provided around the entire upper plate.
 7. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit is a net surrounding all of the slit around the entire upper plate.
 8. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the bottom receiver unit comprises a sand trap.
 9. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 6, wherein the sand trap is a groove.
 10. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 9, wherein the sand trap is a groove having a continuous geometry and/or wherein the sand trap is a groove having a cross section of the bottom of the groove which is free from edges.
 11. (canceled)
 12. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the bottom receiver unit also comprises a sieve situated between the rough filter unit and the drain in flow terms.
 13. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit comprises individual detachable parts.
 14. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the rough filter unit comprises individual detachable part, wherein one such individual detachable part is provided with fastening means and wherein the bottom receiver unit is provided with matching in-locking means.
 15. Bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, wherein the water flowing product is a shower, sink or a hybrid device.
 16. Hybrid device comprising a bottom receiver unit according to claim 1, a recirculation loop and a filter system.
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled) 